ThePlanespotters civil aviation database shows that the plane, a Boeing737-8 MAX, was delivered to Ethiopian Airlines in mid-November.

The Ethiopian Airlines’ statement says the 737-8 MAX crashed six minutes after takeoff, with 157 people thought to be on board.

The cause of the crash is not immediately known.

BBC– An Ethiopian Airlines Boeing 737 passenger jet has crashed on a flight from Addis Ababa to Nairobi in Kenya.

The flight is believed to have had 149 passengers and eight crew members on board, the airline says.

A spokesman said the crash happened at 08.44 local time on Sunday, shortly after take-off from the Ethiopian capital.

First word of the crash came when Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed expressed his “deepest condolences” on Twitter.

The Office of the PM, on behalf of the Government and people of Ethiopia, would like to express it’s deepest condolences to the families of those that have lost their loved ones on Ethiopian Airlines Boeing 737 on regular scheduled flight to Nairobi, Kenya this morning.

Theairline’s highest fatalities to date came in a November 1996 crashduring a hijacking on a flight from Addis Ababa to Nairobi.

One ofthe aeroplane’s engines stopped when the fuel ran out and althoughpilots attempted an emergency water landing, they hit a coral reef inthe Indian Ocean and 123 of the 175 people on board were killed.